Brand awareness, as one of the
fundamental dimensions of brand
equity, is a prerequisite for the market
success of both durables and nondurables
brands. It represents a main
factor for a brand to be included in the
buying decision process consideration
set, as most of the consumers prefer
buying brands they are aware of
(brands they are familiar with or, at
least, they have heard of).
Brand awareness influences
consumers’ perceived risk assessment
and their confidence in the purchase
decision, both in the case of durables
and non-durables. Still, the importance
of brand awareness in perceived risk
assessment is significantly higher in the
case of durables, which suggests that,
in order to reduce the perceived risk
associated to brand choice, it is
essential for brand awareness to be
generated (at least at the unaided
level), especially in the case of
durables.